It’s not unusual for Taylor Swift’s outings to take the internet by storm, especially when she’s attending her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas Chiefs matches. But over the weekend, Taylor’s arrival at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City sparked a debate for a different reason.
Videos of Taylor Swift’s security guards telling photographers to ‘stand up’ as she walked past have gone viral. Now, usually it's customary for photographers at the front of the press pack to kneel down to ensure that they are not blocking the view of the reporters and photographers behind them, but in doing so those photographers can often capture problematic photos.
Since Taylor Swift was wearing a short red Versace skirt and matching blazer, any photographers kneeling down were at risk of upskirting the Shake It Off hitmaker. And unfortunately, in certain US states upskirting isn’t actually illegal, so there is a higher risk that images could be circulated.
Whilst upskirting – where someone takes a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission – became illegal in the UK in 2019 under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act and is punishable by up to two years in prison, the same can’t be said of all US states.
There’s also sadly a lot of debate around the legalities of upskirting because many of them are concerned with where the offence took place. If the upskirting occurred on private property or where there’s a reasonable expectation of private property, then it’s illegal. If it took place at one of the most popular NFL games of the season, then an argument could be made that it’s not. It's completely bonkers, but there you go!
Currently in Massachusetts there's a discussion surrounding updating and clarifying the state’s statute relating to upskirting. Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier sponsored a bill last year to amend the state’s upskirting law to include a new provision that would criminalise any secret recording of a person’s sexual or private parts, regardless of whether the victim is clothed or where the recording took place.
After being passed by the first committee it was sent to in the senate, the bill is currently being reviewed by a different committee and has been given a study order. A study order basically means that the committee will continue to review the legislation because the team were split as to whether to support the bill amendment or not. Yep, there are apparently some people who don't think that the changes should be passed.
And with Donald Trump - a man who has been accused of kissing and groping without consent as well as making models walk on top of restaurant tables so that he could look at their underwear (all of which he denies) - having just been elected as President of the United States, it's looking even less likely that Tricia Farley-Bouvier will see success.
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia